What distinguishes the historian from the collector of historical facts is generalization.
Edward Hallett CarrRead
History consists of a corpus ascertained facts. The facts are available to the historian in documents, inscriptions and so on, like fish in the fishmonger's slab. The historian collects them, takes them home, and cooks and serves them in whatever style appeals to him.
Interpretation
What this quote means
History is shaped by the interpretation of facts gathered by historians from various sources.
This quote emphasizes that history is not just a collection of objective facts; rather, it is actively constructed by historians who interpret and present these facts in particular ways. Just as a chef might prepare a dish according to their preferences, historians too curate and shape narratives based on their understanding, biases, and the contexts in which they operate, suggesting that history is a subjective account of the past rather than an absolute truth.
Themes
HistoryInterpretationFactsNarrativeSubjectivityHistorian
In practice
Example use cases
In a lecture on historiography, you might use this quote to discuss how different historians interpret the same events.
More from Edward Hallett Carr
All quotes →History is the long struggle of man, by exercise of his reason, to understand his environment and to act upon it. But the modern period has broadened the struggle in a revolutionary way. Man now seeks to understand, and act on, not only his environment, but himself; and this has added, so to speak, a new dimension to reason and a new dimension to history.
Edward Hallett CarrRead
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